


Best Weather Day

by bitsori



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Developing Relationship, Extremely Short Timespan, Fluff, House Party, IDK TAGS ARE HARD LMAO, Instant Connections, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-25 21:49:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19754455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: “Hello, Han Jisung,” Minho says; his smile is wide, the corners of his lips curling up in an interesting feline manner that fascinates Jisung. “So why aren’t you in class?”“What would you say if I said it’s because it’s a very beautiful spring day?”--or: The one where Minho and Jisung both decide to skip class because the weather is nice – and end up having the best day either of them have had in a while. ( AU )





	Best Weather Day

**Author's Note:**

> [ 1 ] this has lots of (parenthetical stream of consciousness narrative) lol because jisung’s mind goes everywhere sometimes.
> 
> [ 2 ] i was meant to be working on other wips, but i always miss minsung when i don’t write them for too long, so… this happened. It was supposed to be a short fluff piece (as usual), but it turned into a moderately sized fluff monster instead (what’s new). i hope you enjoy!
> 
> [ 3 ] this was born with [dashboard confessional’s hands down](https://open.spotify.com/track/6yVSp9H2STyLeOs7pjy2w4?si=_RCJklkMQfO4ypEk2IyopA) on repeat, and a lot of it is directly inspired by the song.
> 
> [ 4 ] note that the setting is pretty westernized and its heavily implied that the story doesn't really take place in sk. no specifics are provided, however.
> 
> [ 5 ] advanced apologies for any typos, or any other mistakes i made and missed during editing. im sure there will be some.

  
  
  
— ☼ —

“Hi.”

Jisung looks up at the greeting, only to be met with absolute confusion – why is the pretty boy from his Science & Technology in Society class talking to him? He’s pretty sure that there are nearly 200 students in that class and Jisung is always seated near the back, so he has no idea why Pretty Boy would even recognise him, let alone approach him voluntarily, especially in a non lecture hall setting.

(He obviously recognises Pretty Boy, but that's because he's the type of pretty that stands out even in a lecture auditorium filled to the brim with college students – with his perfect nose, and his sculpted jawline, and his beautiful lips, and maybe Jisung can keep on going with the flowery adjectives but even in his own head it's starting to get embarrassing, so he'd rather not.)

“Um, hi?” Jisung stares, bright and wide eyed; a small smile is curved on Pretty Boy’s pretty lips, and Jisung has to consciously force himself not to look at that particular body part, especially when the other boy chooses to sit beside Jisung. He ends up looking somewhere past Pretty Boy’s left shoulder and it makes him wonder if he looks like someone who can’t focus his eyes because of that, so he quickly gets his wits together and finally lets his gaze settle on Pretty Boy’s face.

“Shouldn't you be in class right now?” He asks Jisung, who can only gawk in response. True enough, he's skipping a class but how does he even know Jisung’s schedule?

“Good sir,” Jisung answers him, after he gathers his bearings, “how do you know that? Are you a stalker or something? My #1 Fan, perhaps?” He's being obtuse and spouting nonsense on purpose, because this is just how he is when faced with things he doesn't understand.

Pretty Boy laughs, and it finally clicks in Jisung's head _why_ he knows that Jisung should be in class right now – it’s 1PM on a Friday and _both_ of them are supposed to be at the lecture auditorium in the Natural Sciences building. He doesn't take back his accusation though; instead he lifts his chin and sharply meets Pretty Boy’s gaze, even though his stomach is actually turning in embarrassment.

“It’s a nice day,” Pretty Boy shrugs, flat-out ignoring Jisung’s question. “I didn’t want to be stuck in class when the weather is like this,” he explains, even though Jisung doesn’t ask. The latter perks up anyway, because he's right. The sun is bright and warm, but there are enough clouds that it doesn't feel scorching hot. Not to mention the trees that littered the campus grounds helped provide ample shade, and assisted in spreading gentle breeze whenever the wind blew. Also, it’s exactly _that_ rhetoric which had him deciding not to attend class that afternoon.

(“The day is too beautiful to be spent inside a stuffy auditorium,” he’d told his friend Seungmin, who scoffed at him in response. “If you don’t want wanna skip with me, will you please at least write my name down on the attendance roll call?”

“No,” Seungmin said flat out, and Jisung had only laughed; he knew Seungmin would probably – _definitely_ – sign his name in the attendance sheet anyway.)

“I’m Minho, by the way—Lee Minho.” Pretty Boy is still talking, and it takes Jisung a beat to realise that he has just properly introduced himself.

 _Lee Minho._

Jisung repeats the name in his head – it’s common, and nothing special. Growing up back home, Jisung knew at least _five_ Minhos, and if he recalls correctly, two of them were definitely Lees. That isn’t even counting the amount of celebrities with the name. Doesn’t quite fit, considering how unique Pretty Boy seems to Jisung – but maybe that's also a hint that there's more to him than one would think.

“Uh, Han Jisung,” He returns. “I mean—that’s my name. Han Jisung.”

“Hello, Han Jisung,” Minho says; his smile is even wider this time, and the corners of his lips curl up in an interesting feline manner that fascinates Jisung. “So why aren’t _you_ in class?”

“What would you say if I said that it’s because it’s a very beautiful spring day?”

“I’d say you were copying off of me,” Minho deadpans, but then he wrinkles his nose and suddenly he’s cracking up with laughter. “I’m kidding. I don’t have a monopoly on feelings about beautiful weather—anyone with half a mind wouldn’t want to go to class on a day like this. Plus! It’s Friday. It’s college, and no one really wants to go to class on Fridays.”

“I told my friend that and he looked at me like I grew a second head,” Jisung shares, laughing as he recalls Seungmin’s expression from barely half an hour ago. “So now he’s stuck in class, being the diligent student that he is, and I’m thinking this is his loss, yeah?”

Minho laughs along, and the grin on Jisung’s face widens because he thinks he likes the sound of it a lot, but he likes it even more that he’s the cause of it. 

“Your friend,” Minho begins, after his (adorable, Jisung thinks) teetering trails off, “Taller than you, right? Guy who wears pressed button-ups a lot? Kinda looks like Park Bogum?”

Jisung snorts at the comment. “I think he prefers DAY6’s Wonpil, but—yeah, that’s my friend, Seungmin.” He tilts his head and looks at Minho squarely; as short as their conversation is, there’s something about Minho that makes Jisung already feel ten times more comfortable with him than he did just five minutes earlier, and this time, Jisung easily locks eyes with him. “How do you even know who my friend is—oh man, you really _are_ my stalker, aren’t you?” He comments, more playful now that he’s feeling relaxed. 

“I’m just observant,” Minho answers, unfazed.

 _Observant is a way to put it,_ Jisung thinks, his face growing mildly heated when he realises that Minho hasn’t looked away from his face for even a single second during their entire exchange so far. 

“So—” He clears his throat, and tries to appear as calm and nonchalant as Minho is acting. He doesn't really have anything to say, but he doesn't want the conversation to end either.

“So—?” Minho asks, still looking at Jisung like he's the most interesting person around in that moment, and that's saying a lot considering they're out in the open, right smack in the middle of the university grounds, surrounded by a gaggle of university students. That should maybe make him feel self-conscious, but it doesn’t – instead it enables him to sit up straight, soaking up in Minho’s attention and turning it into confidence.

“You wanna get out of here?” Jisung finds himself asking without thinking much of it.

“Huh?” Minho blinks, and Jisung feels a light surge of triumph; the other male certainly wasn’t expecting that random invitation, and Jisung, for some reason, feels good about having caught him somewhat off-guard.

“We’ve both agreed that this nice weather is too good to waste,” Jisung points out, chuckling as he keeps on rambling without much thought. “And all we’re doing is sitting on a bench, in the middle of the university quad, soaking up the sun. So let’s go and have some fun!”

“Oh, uh—” Minho laughs some more, and Jisung decides right then that he also likes the way the corners of his eyes crinkle when he laughs. “I didn't really have any plans past ‘soaking up the sun,’ but what are you suggesting?”

“I dunno,” Jisung mumbles, but he's already shoving his things into his bag and getting up on his feet. He turns to Minho, and with a deep breath, he manages to gather enough guts to reach out and grab the other male by the wrist. “I’m sure there are better places where we can soak up the sun!”

Minho doesn’t budge immediately; instead he lifts an eyebrow and continues to stare at Jisung. The way he does it makes Jisung feel scrutinized, but Minho’s eyes are sparkling with amusement, so when he finally gives in and allows Jisung to pull him up to his feet, the two of them have matching grins.

  
  
  


“You have no idea where you’re taking me, do you?” Minho asks, after five minutes pass, and the only place Jisung has managed to lead him to is the bottom steps of the university library. He doesn't sound annoyed, just even more amused, but he stands firm, as he continues, “Because I’m telling you now, I’m not spending this beautiful day inside the library.”

Jisung laughs; he _should_ feel embarrassed, because he’s the one who dragged Minho along with him, but he obviously has no idea where to go, or what to do next. Maybe if he pauses to think properly, he could come up with a more concrete plan, but as it is, he’s decided to keep winging everything as long as Minho is gracing him with his company. It never works out for him when he gets too involved in his own thoughts, after all.

“I’m taking you on a customized Han Jisung tour of the campus grounds,” he declares shamelessly. He realises in that moment that he’s still holding Minho’s wrist, and his smile grows wider as he carefully lets go of it. 

“I go here too, you know,” Minho points out; their knuckles graze against each other before Minho takes his hand so he can idly let hang against his side. “What makes you think you know the place better than I do?”

“Is this a challenge?” Jisung feels oddly riled up, but in a good, exhilarating way. He pulls himself up to his full height which seems to amuse Minho further.

“And if it is?”

“I accept!” Jisung immediately answers without even thinking, never mind that he doesn't even know what the parameters of the challenge are. And then Minho is laughing – _cackling_ so loudly and infectiously that Jisung soon joins him. 

They're so noisy that they get a few strange glances thrown way, but Jisung isn't affected, and it doesn't seem like Minho even _notices._

“How about this,” Minho begins once their combined laughter begins to taper off; he needs to pause and inhale deeply midway through his sentence, catching his breath yet giggling a bit more before he continues, and _damn,_ because these little things fascinate Jisung. Minho – previously only known to him as Pretty Boy – always seemed to have a far-off expression when in class, and based on the very few times Jisung had heard him speak, Jisung would never have thought he’d be the type to have such lighthearted, carefree laughter. “Do you have any other classes left to attend today?”

Jisung shrugs; he has Introduction to Philosophy at 4, but he hates that class, and he _hates_ it even more for being at the tail end of the week. He never wants to go attend on normal days, and he knew he wasn’t going to go to it the moment he decided to skip SciTech in Society.

“I guess it doesn’t matter,” Minho says, chuckling as he watches Jisung’s expression. “So how about I’ll show you my favorite spot on campus, and I’ll show you yours?”

“Uh, are you propositioning me?” Jisung squints at Minho, only half joking.

“You’re literally the one who dragged me off a bench in the middle of the quad with no idea where to take me,” Minho points out, and Jisung ducks his head, ears red, because he has to admit to the truth in Minho’s words.

“And if I agree to this, what do I get if I win?”

“This isn’t supposed to be a contest, Han Jisung, but I suppose if you simply want a prize, then you get the pleasure of my company.” Minho adopts an exasperated tone, but Jisung doesn't feel bad because the entertained sparkle remains in Minho’s eyes.

“If that’s how you want to put it, then it's not fair, because you’re already a winner from the get go,” he declares, a cocky grin split across his cheeks. “My company’s worth platinum in most circles, you know.”

“Do people ever tell you that you're ridiculous?”

“All the damn time,” Jisung answers, grinning almost as if he’s proud even though Minho didn’t really compliment him.

  
  
  


They get coffee at the cart near the Natural Sciences building, where, to Jisung’s surprise, they ask for the exact same order – tall iced Americano, two shots, with white mocha syrup _but_ less ice. He supposes it’s not a particularly unique order, but the bemused expression on the cart employee’s face as he and Minho simultaneously recite their order makes Jisung delightfully pleased.

“And two of those cheesecake pops,” Minho adds, his smile unaffected as he points at the pastries. It’s another pleasant surprise, because that’s also usually his snack of choice whenever he has coins to spare, and he has no idea how Minho would know. He isn’t given ample time to ponder this, however, as Minho is soon enough taking his wallet out, not even giving Jisung time to protest before he’s shelling out enough cash to pay for everything by himself.

“Wait—” Jisung’s eyes widen when he realised he’s just been treated to free food and coffee. “I’ll pay you back later,” he presses with a sheepish smile.

“No need,” Minho tells him, grinning and reaching over to ruffle his hair (an action that’s weirdly _not_ annoying with Minho doing it, but usually grates at his nerves whenever his friend Chan does the same thing). “At least if you take me to a place on campus grounds that’s better than the one I’ll take you to. If I ‘win,’ then you’re reimbursing me for everything.” He sticks his tongue out childishly at Jisung, and Jisung scoffs, before sticking his tongue right back out.

He already knows exactly where he’s taking Minho, but a quick look at his watch tells him it’s still too early, so instead he elbows Minho’s side, sips his (free for now) drink, and declares, “Show me yours first.”

Minho doesn’t protest; he just smiles and leads the way down the winding paths across campus. He makes small talk with Jisung that doesn’t feel awkward, mostly focusing on little anecdotes about his life and his friends that center around various locations that they pass by.

“When I was a freshman, my friend Woojin dared me to go up to that statue,” he says, pointing at the bronze man that stood in front of the Student Affairs Center, “and then he made me have a conversation with the statue.”

“Oh—” Jisung chortles at the imagery he conjures in his head; the statue is easily one that hundreds of students pass by everyday, so he can only assume that Minho talking to the inanimate man must have gathered a bit of attention, especially when Minho, in general, has the type of looks that make people naturally do a double take. “So how’d that conversation go?”

“Pretty good,” Minho answers, deadpan but, as usual (its funny how many things Jisung can already label as ‘usual’ for Minho, even after just spending an hour together), he retains the mischievous sparkle in his eyes. “The agreement was two minutes, but Mr. Bronze Man and I had such a lovely conversation, I think I stayed and talked for at least a whole five. We talked about the weather, and then he reminded me that I had to be in class in ten minutes. At least I think it was ten minutes—freshman year is a couple of years back, after all.”

Jisung laughs, and soon, Minho joins in. (He decides that he really likes the combined sound of their laughter, but he also decides not to put too much weight on the realisation just yet.)

“Well, when _we_ were freshmen—which happens to only be last year for me, old man,” he teases Minho, “Seungmin and our other friend, Seoyeon dared me to come up to the first five people to go down the steps of that building,” he recalls, gesturing towards the Humanities building as they pass by it, “and ask them if they were ‘having a hard time,’ and if they were ‘open-minded.’”

“Sounds like a multi-level marketing meets cult recruitment scheme,” Minho interrupts, laughing even more.

“That was the point!” Jisung exclaims, shaking his head at the memory. “And it just got worse. The fourth person to walk down the steps? My Linguistics professor.”

Minho almost spits his drink out as his laughter grows threefold; Jisung takes comfort in that and the grin that forms on his face is more than a little smug. 

“Did you still go for it?” Minho asks.

“Of course! I’m not the type to back down from dares! Besides—” Jisung huffs. “An all you can eat buffet ticket was on the line!”

“So how’d that go, then?”

“She humored me. It was embarrassing, but—” He sighs, quite dramatically, “—she _did_ stop to talk to me, and told me that it seemed _I_ was having a tough time. And then she said this was why I should be paying better attention in class, and—ugh!” He groans, shaking his head, “—at this point I could see my friends laughing their asses off from the corner of my eye! Unbelievable!”

“You’re unbelievable!” Minho echoes, and Jisung pauses in his step so he can throw him a put-upon glare; in return he gets a pinch on his cheek from Minho that makes him huff.

Their rapport is so easy and natural, and it feels good to be able to share these humorous stories with each other. Jisung doesn’t feel judged for his silly antics, probably because Minho seems to have the same penchant for them – he really wouldn’t have assumed this, just looking at him in class. He’s more than glad now that he decided to forego class on this sunny day – in fact, the weather could do a complete 180 and he thinks he’d still feel quite sunny. Minho’s company has put him in a really good mood so far.

Their conversation, light, playful and teasing at times, flows so easily that he doesn’t realise when they arrive at the university gym where, after Minho throws his empty coffee cup away in the nearest trash bin (with Jisung following suit), he suddenly reaches for Jisung’s hand, pulling him along as he strays off the path.

That piques Jisung’s interest, and he doesn’t point out the suddenness of Minho boldly taking his hand, intertwined fingers and all, even though they’ve really only (technically) known each other for barely an hour. Minho leads him through some bushes, and turns him around the corner to the back of the building. 

“Your favorite place, in the entirety of these vast campus grounds,” Jisung drawls slowly, blinking as he takes in their current surroundings, “is… the back of the gym?!”

Minho laughs, and waves towards the track field ahead of them; Jisung realises that Minho had taken him through a simple shortcut to the field, which isn’t as exciting as Jisung would have expected.

“Or—you like perving on track athletes, I guess?” Jisung teases, grinning with his head playfully tilted to the side. 

“Sounds more like a you thing,” Minho shoots back with a mysterious smile, continuing to pull Jisung with him towards the back of the bleachers.

“This feels very high school,” Jisung comments without thinking.

“Oh? Did you get a lot of action behind the bleachers back in high school?” Minho lifts an eyebrow at him, and Jisung actually feel his cheeks flush. He also lets Jisung’s hand go finally, and suddenly Jisung doesn’t know what to do with his hand so he just consciously grips the strap of his messenger bag instead.

He watches with curiosity as Minho slides his backpack off his shoulder, that it takes him by complete surprise when he suddenly feels soft nuzzling against his ankle – one that’s accompanied by soft mewling. 

“Oh!” He gasps in surprise, eyes lighting up when he looks down to find a black and white cat rubbing itself against his leg. 

“I don’t care about the track team,” Minho explains as he crouches down; he’s taken something out of his bag, and it’s only when Jisung lowers himself to a similar position that he recognizes that something as a can of tuna. “I like it here because this is where a lot of the campus strays gather at odd times of the day,” Minho explains, smiling as he focuses on the cat that moves from Jisung’s side, towards Minho’s outstretched hand.

“Strays?” Jisung clarifies. “Plural?”

But Minho doesn’t really have to explain any more, because the moment he pops the tuna can open, it’s as if two more cats has suddenly appeared from thin air.

“I have cats back home,” Minho explains, his tone distracted; his attention is focused completely on an orange kitten that he’s picked up and cradled in his arms, but while Jisung partly wishes to get Minho to look at him again, he can’t really blame the other. He’s pretty engrossed in his cautious attempt at petting one of the cats himself. “My mother sends me pictures of them sometimes, but I like coming here and playing with actual cats. It makes me feel better, especially when I’m stressed,” Minho continues softly.

“They seem to like you too,” Jisung comments.

“They love anyone who feeds them,” Minho retorts with a laugh; he looks up finally, and their eyes meet as they exchange grins. “Looks like they adore you too, though,” he points out, nodding at the black and white cat that’s butting its head against Jisung’s knee.

“I had a kitten when I was young,” Jisung shares, giggling as he scratches behind the black and white cat’s ear. (He wonders if he could name them – wonders if maybe Minho already has if he visits them regularly like he's implied.) “Her name was Cotton, because she was pure white and the cutest, fluffiest thing.” He sighs, his smile unfortunately faltering. “Cotton didn't have the very best ending,” he mumbles, nose wrinkling and hand stilling behind his chosen cat’s neck. “After Cotton, my family got a dog—a German Shepherd called Faith,” he shares, the brief moment of sadness gone as quickly as it had appeared. “My brother named him.”

“So are you more of a dog person then?” Minho asks in a way that makes Jisung feel like he's being tested.

“Just an animal person in general,” he answers truthfully, and the way Minho’s shoulders relax, and the corners of his mouth curl up tell Jisung he'd answered perfectly. It makes him feel good, so he adds, also truthfully, but also for good measure, “Cats are fascinatingly smart though, so gun to my head, if you make me choose between being a dog or cat person, well—definitely leaning towards that direction!”

“It’s good to know you have taste, Han Jisung,” Minho tells him with a wink that makes a lone butterfly flutter in his stomach.

  
  
  


After the cats eat (Jisung meets three of them in total, but Minho swears up and down he’s met _at least_ seven different strays), and they start ignoring Minho and Jisung again, the two of them end up seated on the bleachers, watching runners sprint around the perimeter of the field while enjoying conversation.

At the back of his mind, Jisung notes that there hasn't really been a lull in his time with Minho – the two of them have been talking nonstop since the moment that Minho sat beside him on the bench in the middle of the quad, and there hasn't been a single awkward moment except for _maybe_ at the start when Jisung had gawked at him, surprised and confused at the sudden attention. (He got over that quickly anyway, he thinks, even though sure, Minho’s looks are still somewhat distracting, but he's easily working through that. Well, more or less.)

“So I give you maybe 7 out of 10 points for your choice of favorite spot on campus,” Jisung comments smugly; he's unable to keep his hands still as he talks, and he mindlessly and continuously taps them against his lap.

“Seven?!” Minho huffs in obvious disbelief, which makes Jisung smirk because he actually expected that reaction. “The cats warrant an automatic ten, come on!”

“I don’t know,” Jisung shrugs. “I’ll be generous and give an eight, maybe?”

Minho squints at him, and laughs; by the looks if his expression it seems that he's figured out that Jisung is just messing with him. “Ten,” he insists, standing firm.

“8.5?” Jisung offers with a grin.

“9.5,” Minho declares with calm finality, that Jisung only ends up huffing, much to Minho’s obvious delight. “You know,” he continues to share before Jisung can say anything else, “it was actually a tossup between here and the laundry room in the basement of the freshman hall—but we established early on that the sun is a good reason to stay outside, so here we are.”

Jisung gives him a questioning glance. “The laundry room?!” He laughs. “In the freshman hall?!”

“I love the smell of fabric softener,” Minho explains matter-of-factly. “Especially on freshly laundered—no, freshly _spin dried_ clothes. And the freshman hall has the best kept facilities out of all the dorms here.”

Jisung blinks at him. “You're weird,” he says after several seconds of pause.

Minho hums. “Says the guy who admitted to being able to sleep anywhere, even while standing up,” he retorts, referring to a story Jisung had shared just earlier, when they had passed the outdoor theater, and Jisung recalled having watched a play there once, only to end up falling asleep halfway through even though he didn't have a seat, and was on the far left of the perimeter, simply standing against a tree.

(“I was stressed! I’d had three sleepless nights by then because it was midterms season, but I went because my friend Chan was in the play!” Jisung tried to defend himself after Minho laughed, only to admit not even a minute later, “It _does_ happen a lot, though.)

Jisung laughs and starts to tick off fingers, “Okay, one—being able to sleep anywhere is actually a pretty handy skill, thank you very much! And two—I never said being weird is a bad thing!”

Minho squints at him, wrinkles his (perfectly shaped, Jisung thinks) nose and then proceeds to laugh. “Fair enough,” he concedes in the middle of carefree giggling. “Oh, but! Speaking of weird—I just remembered something.”

“What about?”

“That story of yours? About you hassling people at the Humanities building?”

“It wasn't hassling!” Jisung argues, bottom lip curved down in a pout, and arms now crossed across his chest. “It was a dare!”

“Yeah,” Minho snickers and waves a dismissive hand. “I’m sure all those people had nothing better to do than be pawns in you and your friends’ games!”

Jisung immaturely sticks his tongue out at him, unable to come up with a proper retort, and Minho just grins and pinches his cheek. (He _thinks_ he hears a faint 'cute,’ escape Minho together with his exhalation, but the chances of Jisung just projecting his own thoughts are pretty high, so he lets it go.)

“Anyway,” Minho grins and makes a point of patting Jisung on the head before taking his hand back. “That story reminded me of something. My friend's boyfriend—well, he's my friend now, too, I guess—he told a story like it once. Says he met one of his good friends in a similar way.”

“What do you mean?”

“He said this dumbass came up to him one day when he was feeling pretty stressed and harangued, asked him if he was having a hard time and proceeded to offer him some kind of solution. He’s a little daft sometimes—” Minho chuckles, “—but I guess just having someone see through his stress made him feel so relieved, and…”

Minho goes on with the story, and Jisung nods to show that he's listening; but then something clicks together in his head, and the next thing he knows, he and Minho are turning to look at each other, only to have the exact same realisation in the exact same moment, at least if the way Minho’s eyes light up is anything to go by.

“You know Hyunjin?!” Jisung asks, maybe just a little too eagerly. The coincidence excites him so much that he even lets it slide that Minho had just inadvertently referred to him as a dumbass in his recollection of Hyunjin's story.

“Yeah, we've hung out a few times because Changbin's one of my best friends,” Minho says, chuckling. “But don't tell Changbin I said that—it's much too fun denying him.”

Jisung snorts. He’s met Changbin a few times as well, and he admittedly likes the guy. (Seungmin likes to joke it's because he likes anyone who is shorter him because it makes him feel tall for once, but then Seungmin is also the type who, like Minho apparently, loves to pretend his best friends aren’t his best friends.)

“Wait!” Jisung brightens up as a certain realisation dawns on him. “That means you’re invited to Hyunjin’s birthday bash later then?”

“Well, it’s at Changbin’s, so—yeah.” Minho grins. “You wanna go together?”

The invitation is extended so casually that it makes Jisung doubt the surprise he feels. “Together?” He echoes stupidly, silently wondering if _together_ implies a date situation, but something about his tone must have been funny because it makes Minho chortle. 

“Yeah, together. Our day isn’t over after all—you’ve yet to show me _your_ favorite place, right?” Minho grins, his pearly whites a bit too dazzling despite the rabbitlike nature of his two front teeth. “After that we can grab a quick bite somewhere before heading to Changbin’s place, you up for it?”

Jisung realises that he has been having such a good time that he hasn’t really thought about how his day with Minho was bound to end sooner or later, and now that Minho was sorta, kinda offering an extension he didn’t even realised he needed, he’s quick to grin and nod and accept it. “Yeah, ok, sounds good!”

“So, you ready to take me to our next stop yet?” Minho asks.

“Next what—?” Minho gives him a pointed look before it quickly dawns on Jisung what he means. “Oh yeah! What time is it—?” He casts a quick glance at his wristwatch – 4:30PM, it says, which means he and Minho have only really been spending time together for a little over three hours. It feels so much more, but Jisung doesn’t let himself dwell on that because 4:30 PM also means they only have around half an hour before they have to be where Jisung wants to take them. “Okay, come on!” He announces as he theatrically jumps up to his feet and offers Minho his free hand. “We have to drop by the student co-op to grab some snacks first, anyway.”

  
  
  


Last term, Jisung had managed to snag himself a part time job at the ticket booth of the university film center. He only really had to work on Fridays (when they would show and re-show various student-made films through the night, starting at 5PM) and weekends (when they showed pre-picked blockbusters or classics – with the occasional critically acclaimed indie film or two – for students to enjoy at a low price). The rest of the week, student organizations (usually from the film department, unsurprisingly) would rent the place for specific movie viewings, but they usually put their own people in charge of ticketing. It wasn’t a bad gig, all things considered – Jisung saw a lot of free movies, and he was able to do schoolwork inside the ticket booth for whenever he really needed to. The pay was crap, but he supposes that's expected anywhere. 

He quit the job at the beginning of the current semester, though, because he hated having his weekends tied up, and he got a new gig tutoring at the student center, which allowed him freer reign of his schedule. Still, this didn't stop him from secretly keeping spare keys to the theater’s side entrance, which is where he leads Minho through.

“So you come and see movies here a lot?” Minho asks in a whispered tone even as they're met with a near empty theater. (The lack of people isn’t a big surprise to Jisung – most students would rather go to parties, or off-campus bars and pubs for Friday date night, than go see unheard of student movies.)

“Sometimes,” Jisung answers, pulling Minho with him towards the back.

“The movies they show here any good?” Minho asks. “I’ve been here a few times with friends, but only on weekends. We saw a special screening of Toy Story 3 once because I dragged them along with me.” He squints at the screen after they sit down. “What’s this one even about?”

On the big screen, a quite amateurish student actor is waxing poetic about a rose garden, and Jisung almost laughs because he almost has this particular soliloquy memorized. Unfortunately for him, he's seen this movie a few too many times starting from last semester – apparently it’s some whiz kid’s senior thesis, and rumor around the film center employee grapevine says that everyone's just waiting to hear about him showing at Cannes one day. Jisung calls bullshit, but what does he know?

“Nothing interesting,” Jisung answers. “This guy pretty much whines about his privileged life all throughout the movie—I think there's supposed to be some kind of lesson there, about everyone having their personal pain but it's ridiculous. My friend, who’s a film major, says the director employs good cinematography though, so I guess this movie at least has some merit there. But when I watch a movie I’m in it for the story, you know? Sometimes, the dialogue, but mostly the story.”

Even in the dark, Jisung appreciates the way Minho smiles at him. “Yeah,” the older agrees with a nod as he leans back and settles in his seat, the chair letting out a soft squeak as he does so. The film center is old, and not particularly well maintained. “I agree,” Minho adds, still whispering. “But you go here a lot anyway?”

“Sometimes there are movie gems,” Jisung shares softly. “It’s not a bad way to waste time—and I like watching people and their reactions.” As a Creative Writing major, Jisung would argue that there's something kind of inspiring about watching people react to the dramatization of other people's stories shown on the big screen. It’s not bad for his personal inspiration, nevertheless.

“Watching people huh,” Minho murmurs, before lightly nudging Jisung’s side and nodding towards a particular pair of people seated two rows in front of them, several seats down. “Like them, then?” He asks, snickering as his tone shifts into something more teasing.

Jisung almost chokes as he does his best to hold back laughter. Even though he can only see the silhouette of the couple that Minho is referring to, it's pretty obvious that they're looking like they're about to morph into one amorphous blob, their arms wrapped around each other, and their tongues shoved down each other's throats. “That's a regular occurrence here,” Jisung whispers. “Especially Friday nights, once it's past dinner time. Date night, you know.”

Minho snorts. “And you always sit here at the back where you can observe them—”

“Sounds weird when you put it like that!” Jisung groans. “I never go here late Friday nights!”

Minho hums. “Okay, my bad—should have assumed someone cute like you would be out on dates as well on Fridays.”

“Um, yeah, obviously!” Jisung hotly shoots back, acting all cocky, even though he could feel his ears warming up at the casually delivered compliment. (It’s not true, anyway. He doesn't really go on a lot of dates anymore, and he especially hasn't gone on any over the last several months, and most of his Fridays are spent with his best friends instead.)

“My bad,” Minho comments, but he does it in such a self-satisfied way that just makes Jisung scoff. 

“Sometimes I join my friend, Chan, in the projection room,” Jisung shares, mumbling as he attempts to steer the conversation away from the two lovebirds looking like they're about to move past first base. “Do you wanna go up there instead? He's on shift right now, if I remember correctly.”

“Do _you?”_

Jisung pauses, considering it. “Uh, not really,” he admits quietly. He sees Chan enough, most days.

“Okay, good,” Minho murmurs, flashing a toothy smile at him, before holding out an open pack of Skittles towards him. Jisung doesn't fully understand his reaction, but Minho’s smile makes him feel nice, so he just grins back and helps himself to a handful of candy.

The film, albeit barely an hour long, moves along slowly; Jisung is truly more than familiar with the storyline by now, and a lot of the dialogue has unintentionally stuck to his head. Half of the time he whispers along the lines, leaning closer to Minho as he uses an exaggerated whispered tone. It gets obvious, with the way that Minho keeps suppressing his giggles, that he’s more than entertained by Jisung’s antics.

“Well that was a dud,” Minho murmurs when the credits start to roll at the end. “Your rendition was way more fun.”

“It was a pretty looking movie, I guess!” Jisung chirps, a little too enthusiastically. Dim lights have gone on, and the couple two rows away have finally pulled away – not that they make any move to get up. Jisung guesses they’ll probably get back to whatever they were doing once the light goes out again, and the next movie starts to play. (Meanwhile, the small group of students seated up front have all gotten to their feet and are headed towards the exit; they’re the type of group Jisung would have paid closer attention to any other day – but today Minho had his whole attention.)

“I think I had General Psych with the leading lady, actually,” Minho shares.

“Oh perk of these movies—” Jisung laughs. “People on the big screen feel like normal, everyday people, because they literally _are_ people you see around campus. Everyone's suddenly a celebrity!”

Minho laughs and pats the back of his head. “I like the way you think.”

“Me too,” Jisung replies, eyebrows wagging playfully. “I like the way I think, too.”

Their combined laughter actually echo loud enough that it gets them angry shushes from the couple in front of them.

“Hypocrisy!” Jisung hisses under his breath, soft enough that only Minho hears – unfortunately it's more than enough to set Minho off again, which means Jisung follows suit soon after.

  
  
  


They stay for another hour, and catch another senior thesis student film. Minho recognizes a few of the extras, and Jisung admits that it’s one he (miraculously) has never seen before, so they both pay attention more than they did to the first one. (The couple in front of them, Jisung notes, pays just about as much attention as they did to the first movie – much to the surprise of no one at all.)

“It’s past 7,” Minho whispers to him, leaning in so close that his warm breath brushes against Jisung’s ear, tickling him and making him flinch in his seat. “Let’s get out of here and grab a bite. How do you feel about burgers?”

It’s as if Minho knows him so well because it’s right in that moment that Jisung’s stomach lets out a low rumble, earning him giggles from the older. “Love burgers,” Jisung mumbles, actually feeling sheepish about his noisy appetite.

“Let’s go!” Minho freely takes his hand again to pull him up, and Jisung thinks he could get used to this – that even after only six or so hours, he’s already _kind of_ used to it.

He fixates on the way that their fingers are loosely yet naturally intertwined, that he doesn’t realise they’re walking towards the opposite direction of where he thought they’d be headed to.

“Wait,” he tightens his grip on Minho’s hand, essentially stopping him mid-stride when Jisung stands still. “Do you know some kind of shortcut to the student union?” For some reason, he just assumed they were going to eat at the student food court like he typically does day in, and day out. The meal allowance provided for by his scholarship was only really good for there, and they had enough choices (hit or miss, depending on the day, admittedly) that Jisung hasn't felt the need to shake up his own meager budget for a meal off-campus when he's kept perfectly well-fed and happy. 

(Seungmin and Seoyeon like to make fun of him for it; Seungmin especially loves to drill it into him that he's missing out on a lot, but whatever, because Jisung knows Seungmin would kill if it meant having more days that had the food court serving omelette rice. And Seoyeon only ever ate off-campus whenever her girlfriend wanted to, so Jisung maintains that she doesn't have much room to talk.)

“No?” Minho looks confused at his assumption. “I parked near the NatSci building this morning, so that's where we're headed. Woojin messaged me earlier complaining that today’s menu at the food court consists of the mystery chilli and their soggy fettuccine—I don't know about you, but for me that means today is _not_ a good day to eat there.”

“Oh.”

He’s pretty sure no one, in the entire population of their university, likes those offerings, and he has no idea why the food court still insists on serving those poor excuses for meals when they also have delicious, edible offerings that are genuinely beloved by most of the student population – probably for schmucks like him who refuse to spend money outside their monthly meal allowance. Sometimes, when he's really hungry, he braves those days and stomachs whatever mystery meat they're offering, but more often than not he just heads back to his dorm room where he makes do with two cups of cheap, instant ramen. (And okay, maybe a part of it is really just him being incredibly stubborn – the more Seungmjn and Seoyeon tease him about his eating habits, the more he wants to prove that he can survive on nothing else but student union food. But Minho – perhaps if he has a suggestion, Jisung would be willing to reconsider.)

“There's a diner off-campus that serves the best burgers—Poppy’s? Surely you've been there at least once?” Minho asks, tugging at Jisung’s hand as he starts walking again.

Jisung shakes his head, and Minho looks genuinely surprised. “I’ve kinda made it a point never to eat anywhere off campus. I mean, once or twice, I had McDonald’s but that’s because my friend Seoyeon was craving a Big Mac, so she gave in and paid for my meal.”

(There's also a nice Korean restaurant that he occasionally goes to with his friends, but it's way across the other side of town so they only really eat there when they're craving the taste of Korean food. Jisung doesn't really count going there as straying from his meal allowance because he reasons he's allowed the frivolity of eating something that reminds him of his mother's home cooked meals every now and then, and he factors this into his budget accordingly.)

“The burgers are infinitely better at Poppy’s, and cheaper, too, as long as you show them your student ID,” Minho shares. 

“They do that?” 

“We live in a college town, Jisung—” Minho laughs, “—a lot of places do that.”

Jisung is actually surprised that he’s never heard about this; he wonders if Seungmin has been holding out on him, but knowing his friend – who never really finds himself wanting for money thanks to his parents both being successful lawyers – he just probably didn’t find it relevant enough to mention. But Seoyeon – he thinks he just might chew her out for never mentioning this to him before.

“You really didn’t know?” Minho chuckles. “You're halfway through your second year in university and you really never realised this!”

Jisung huffs, the tips of his ears red from Minho’s teasing. “Well I guess it's lucky that I now have a very generous upperclassman willing to show me the ropes, and teach me all sorts of new things!” He retorts, chin up, tone all snarky and gung ho.

Minho only laughs some more, and Jisung slowly relaxes, his smile growing bigger.

“So lead the way then, Generous Upperclassman,” Jisung demands; a small part of him remains stubborn, not wanting to break his near-perfect streak of only ever eating at the student food court, but he’s been thinking about burgers ever since Minho mentioned them ten minutes ago, and to go from the idea of a big, fat, juicy, beefy cheeseburger to the actuality of sloppy, mystery chilli is more than enough to squash that tiny part. 

_(And Minho,_ a small voice at the back of his head whispers. The promise of Minho’s company is what really tips the scale in favor of everything else.)

  
  
  


The drive from where Minho parked at the Natural Sciences building, to the quaint little diner called Poppy’s just outside the campus, takes barely ten minutes, which Jisung is happy about.

“I’m starving,” he whispers, leaning across the table and stretching his arms out above his head after a waitress finishes taking their order. (He almost ordered the same thing as Minho again – a double bacon cheeseburger, but the older had urged him to try something else, with the promise of letting him take a bite out of his own, so Jisung went with a mushroom burger instead, “You’ll love it,” Minho had promised, and for someone he’s only really been talking to for a little over six hours, he finds that he has absolute faith in Minho’s words.)

When the food finally arrives, Jisung doesn't wait before picking his burger up and taking a massive bite off of it. As expected, it's as juicy and meaty and satisfying as Minho built it up to be, and Jisung finds himself moaning in appreciation – much to Minho’s obvious delight and amusement.

With his mouth full, he can only watch as Minho uses a bread knife to slice his entire sandwich in half. He assumes that this is just how Minho eats burgers – which he finds strange, but Minho has shown him a lot of strange qualities over the day, each one just rendering him more interesting than the last – but then Minho is transferring one half over to Jisung’s plate, much to his surprise and confusion.

Still in the middle of chewing his food, all he can do is give Minho a questioning look. 

“You wanted to try mine too, right?” Minho says simply, and Jisung has to scramble, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin before he makes an attempt to half his own burger.

Minho laughs, and shakes his head. “You don’t have to,” he tells Jisung.

“Of course I do,” Jisung declares, after swallowing the contents of his mouth. “The equivalent of one burger for you, and the equivalent of one burger for me – these things are massive! I’d be more than full with just one!”

Minho keeps chuckling, but he doesn’t really protest as Jisung moves a part of his burger to his plate. “The onion rings are good, too,” he informs Jisung, gesturing at the basket of onion rings that he got to go with his order.

“Then we share those, and my fries, too,” Jisung simply says.

They both eat heartily, and Jisung takes mental notes as Minho tells him about other small restaurants and diners around the area that offer good food, and hefty student discounts.

“Next time I’ll take you out for some of the best waffles you will ever have in your lifetime,” Minho says, and Jisung can only beam and nod, happy at the implication that Minho is up for spending more time with him even after this day is over. “Where do you and your friends usually hang out?” He asks Jisung in between bites.

“Well, Seungmin and I are roommates, so just our room, usually,” Jisung explains. “He usually has his nose buried in books, or he's busy with his student orgs. We usually have dinner at the union together though—breakfast, too, most days.” He laughs. “I feel like we spend too much time together as it is, anyway. Seoyeon and I just hang out wherever we find ourselves—usually at the quad, when the day is nice like today was. She also comes over to bother me and Seungmin a lot, but most of her free time recently has been locked down by her girlfriend, anyway. I’m sure you know how that is—?”

He’s trying to be slick – trying to pry into Minho’s love life without doing it directly.

“Am I supposed to know—?” Minho shoots back, in a way that tells Jisung that he's failed at his attempt to be smooth, and that Minho's completely seen right through him. “If I was seeing someone, don't you think I would have somehow made a mention of them by now?”

He’s right because they've covered so much ground in the time they've spent together – from Jisung telling Minho about the time a teaching assistant had refused to accept his exam booklet because he was a few seconds late (leading him to sneak his booklet into the middle of the stack when the T.A. had been momentarily distracted by a gaggle of students who’d luckily entered the classroom just when Jisung needed them to), to Minho sharing with him a memory of a time when he thought a blind date had stood him up (they were supposed to meet at a cafe called Corner Coffee Shop, but the girl showed up at some place called Corner Coffee _Connection_ instead, way across the other side of town – “I never agreed to another blind date setup from Felix again after that,” Minho explained; “I can get dates on my own, thank you very much,” he added, and Jisung could only wholeheartedly agree in his head.).

“Fair enough,” Jisung murmurs, smiling to himself as he picks up a fry because Minho’s use of a neutral pronoun isn't lost on him.

“You're not hiding a secret boyfriend from me, are you?” Minho tries to sound like he's joking, but Jisung is able to detect the slight hitch in his breath that tips him off to Minho’s nerves.

“Well,” Jisung sticks his tongue out, before laughing. “Wouldn't you like to know!”

“I do, Jisung, that's why I’m asking,” Minho answers, plainly, simply, that it tears right through Jisung’s put-upon confidence.

“Well,” he takes another bite off his burger, before mumbling with his mouth half full, “I don't.”

“Good to know,” Minho comments, smiling at him with his eyes sparkling; it makes Jisung blush, but he hopes it's not _too_ noticeable, despite the bright fluorescent lights of the diner.

“Anyway—” he interjects, desperate to move on from the topic. “I hang out with Hyunjin a lot, too. Sometimes we all go and watch movies at the Cineplex downtown, during discount days. Sometimes we stop by the arcade, too.”

“That's so painfully wholesome, it's cute,” Minho comments, grinning. “Pretty sure Hyunjin likes to go out and drink too—isn’t that’s how he and Changbin met? My idiot friend hit on him at—”

“At Lucky’s, yeah!” Jisung finishes for Minho with a chuckle because he's heard this story himself, more than a few times. “Yeah, but that whole scene isn't really Seungmin’s usual scene, and Seoyeon and I prefer going to see bands at Tricks when someone we like has a gig.”

“Like I said, wholesome!”

“What—!” Jisung laughs. “We party, too! My friend, Chan—I mentioned him earlier, I think? He’s a film student, and he works the projector room at the film center? Anyway, he's a Kappa Omega, so he always invites me to Greek row parties, and whenever we need to destress, we take him up on his offer and we go and get smashed with the best of them.”

“So why have I never seen you at any of those parties?” 

“I don't know,” Jisung grins cheekily, “but that's _your_ loss, not mine.”

(But actually, maybe also a little bit his, Jisung considers, as he's only able to wonder how it would have gone down if he'd originally met Minho with liquid courage in system. It makes him blush at first until it dawns to him, considering how smoothly the entire day has gone – maybe not much would have been different.)

“Guess that'll be rectified tonight at Changbin's tonight,” Minho comments, and Jisung's eyes grow wide before he lets out a laugh.

He'd almost forgotten about that – and now a part of him doesn't want to go anymore, because he selfishly wants to keep Minho to himself all night. But that wouldn't be fair, because Hyunjin is one of his best friends and it's _his_ birthday celebration. Plus, he’s sure that Seungmin will be ready to wring his neck if he goes M.I.A that night – he guesses Minho’s friends probably would do the same, so he gathers he doesn’t really have any choice. 

“Right,” he simply agrees. “Changbin’s tonight!”

  
  
  


It’s a little past 9:30PM – almost 10, even – when they finally pull up across the street from Changbin’s apartment; the party was meant to _officially_ start at 8, but everyone knows no one really arrives until around after an hour anyway. Still, as friends of the host (Minho) and the guest of honor (Jisung), they’d meant to arrive a little earlier – except time had gotten away from them (yet _again),_ and by the time they’d checked their phones for the time, it was already a few minutes past 9.

 _“This_ is where Changbin lives?” Jisung blinks in disbelief at the structure in front of them. He wonders how much the monthly rent compares to his tuition fee, because he’s pretty sure that’s a set of luxurious townhouses lining the street across them. “By himself?! Damn—Hyunjin never mentioned he was dating a one-percenter!”

Minho laughs at his obvious bafflement, but he thinks he really shouldn’t be blamed. The fact that Changbin could afford off-campus housing by himself was already enough proof of him being well-off, but Jisung didn’t realise just _how much_ well-off. Seungmin is (was? Jisung thinks maybe he should switch that to past tense, with this new revelation about Changbin) the richest person in Jisung’s orbit, and even _he_ dorms on-campus. (Granted, that was originally because freshmen were _required_ to live in the dorms, and now that they’re in their second year – well, Jisung likes to think it’s because Seungmin’s grown to like rooming with him a little too much to leave him behind for a life of leisure off-campus. Not that Seungmin will ever admit it to his face. He’d probably say it’s because it’s easier to get to the library from the dorms – Jisung will never believe him.)

“Yeah, the brown one with the red door, specifically. His family’s pretty rich,” Minho whispers to him as they cross the street together. “They own a private hospital back where he’s from—and I think his mother’s family is into real estate or something? Like, not just peddling houses and apartments, but big time real estate investment. Changbin doesn’t really talk about it much, so I don’t ask. He used to live here with his sister, if that lessens your awe any,” he comments, laughing. “But she graduated last year.”

Jisung can only nod mutely, frankly still amazed.

“He genuinely doesn’t like flaunting his family’s money so he loves to pretend that he hates throwing parties,” Minho continues; a soft giggle escapes him and Jisung easily interprets it as fondness for his friend. “But the truth is that he really enjoys entertaining—and more than that, he _loves_ doing things for Hyunjin, so this party was always an inevitability right from the moment he and Hyunjin started dating.”

“Damn,” Jisung retorts. “I can’t believe Hyunjin got himself a sugar daddy—”

Minho snorts, laughter sputtering out of him as he obviously tries to hold it in. “Stop—” He hisses, chuckling and snorting even as he elbows Jisung’s side and knocks on the door.

It’s Hyunjin who greets them, his expression reflecting complete shock when he realises that the two of them had arrived _together,_ instead of just having chanced upon each other outside Changbin’s house.

“Happy birthday, Hyunjinnie!” Minho greets cheerfully in a sing-song manner, reaching up and ruffling the birthday boy’s hair before walking past him, and into the house.

“Happy birthday, man,” Jisung echoes, grinning and tipping an imaginary hat at him, but waiting for Hyunjin to step aside before he follows Minho inside. He’s even more impressed by the large, spacious interior of the place because it seems even bigger inside than the exterior would have you think. It truly is perfect for parties, Jisung supposes, but he can't help but wonder what kind of neighbors surround Changbin. (Snobs, probably , but hopefully not the type to be bothered too much by university students partying through the night.)

“You two know each other?” Hyunjin gawks at them, fingers running through his own hair so he can fix the mess that Minho made out of it.

“We have SciTech together,” Minho answers noncommittally, eyes scouring the crowd that’s already gathered to party (there are a lot of guests, which doesn’t really come as a surprise – between all his extracurriculars, and his natural human magnetism, Hyunjin belongs to many social circles at school and is pretty well liked in all of them), as if he’s looking for someone.

Jisung stands behind him, quietly shrugging his shoulders and flashing a grin at Hyunjin. The latter shakes his head and squeezes Jisung's arm in return, obviously giving up on getting a more detailed answer from either of them. 

“Glad you both can make it,” Hyunjin tells them, with a genuinely happy smile. “We already cut the cake, though.”

“As if your boyfriend would've ever let me hear the end of it, if I missed this,” Minho answers, his focus finally bouncing back to Hyunjin. “Sorry we weren't around to sing happy birthday. Woojin and Felix here yet?”

“It’s okay—just happy both of you came! And Woojin, not yet because his work shift ran late, but he’s supposed to be on his way,” Hyunjin answers. “I think Felix is in the kitchen—he came with that freshman friend of his, Jeongin?”

“Ooooh—” A mix of mischief and curiosity passes over Minho’s eyes, which has Jisung squinting at him with his own wonderment, and he tugs at his companion’s sleeve to give him a questioning look. “I’ll tell you later,” Minho whispers to him, once again directly into his ear, warm and ticklish, making Jisung hold back a giggle. 

Hyunjin has already left them to mingle with his guests, and Minho nudges Jisung, gesturing towards what he assumes is the kitchen. “Gonna go say hi to my friends, and get us some drinks,” he tells Jisung, “you should do the same with yours.” He points towards the other end of the room, where he immediately spots Seungmin, laughing merrily like he’s already a bit buzzed, as he plays a game of beer pong with Daehwi, who lives down the hall from them.

Jisung doesn't really want to separate from Minho, but he doesn't want to be clingy and cloying either, so he nods with a smile, before he starts walking over to his friend.

“Yo Kim Seungmin!” He calls out, loud and proud, only to be met with resounding cheer as Seungmin manages to toss the ball straight into Daehwi’s last beer cup.

“Han Jisung!” Seungmin returns, a little too enthusiastically, which tells Jisung that he’s certainly had a bit to drink – he never did have the best tolerance since he doesn’t really drink a lot. “Play against me?”

“Wouldn’t you rather keep your winning streak?” Jisung asks, laughing as he sneaks a poke at Seungmin’s stomach, who groans and gives him a huffy scoff. “Seoyeon already here?”

“She’s somewhere around,” Seungmin answers, running fingers through his hair as he steps aside to let another pair set up cups for their own round of beer pong. “So—” He takes a deep breath, and then he carefully exhales. “Where have _you_ been all afternoon?”

“Why?” Jisung grins and makes a show out of putting an arm around his friend. “Did you miss me?”

Seungmin rolls his eyes, but doesn’t do anything to remove his arm, instead choosing. “Seoyeon says you skipped your shared Philo class too.”

“I already told you! The weather today was too nice to spend indoors!”

“That’s a stupid reason,” Seungmin says – almost in the exact same irritated tone he used on Jisung when he told him the exact same thing that afternoon.

“Minho doesn't seem to think so,” Jisung simply states, firmer in his conviction now that he knows he has Minho to back up his logic.

“Right, about that—I saw you arrive,” Seungmin drawls, his tone more nasal than usual, and the cadence of his words slow and careful because he's consciously making sure he doesn't slur his words. “Minho, huh? You arrived with Minho.” He squints at Jisung, the scrutiny making the latter blush.

“What?” Jisung takes his arm away and releases forced laughter – an attempt to seem nonchalant, that only makes Seungmin stare at him with even more suspicion.

“You've kinda been crushing on—”

“I’ve not!” Jisung immediately interrupts, clamping a hand over Seungmin’s mouth, and just in time too, because as if on cue, Minho is suddenly right there with them.

“Hey!” He greets them, lips curved into that pretty smile that's been dazzling Jisung all day. “You're Seungmin, right?” He turns to ask Seungmin even as he hands Jisung a bottle of beer. 

Seungmin blinks, surprised that Minho seems to be familiar with him; for some reason, his silenced reaction makes Jisung feel weirdly smug – not a lot of things renders his friend speechless. (He always assumed that's why and how they got close: him, Seungmin, Seoyeon – they all talked a little too much.)

“You always sit with Jisung near the back,” Minho explains to Seungmin, but his words catch even Jisung off-guard – he didn't realise that Minho paid attention to him in class enough to notice such a trivial detail. “Jisung’s also told me a lot about you,” he adds with a playful lilt in his tone that makes Jisung laugh.

“What kind of things?” Seungmin asks, eyes narrowed at Jisung, even though his words are aimed at Minho. “Better be only good things?”

“Oh—well he told me about that time you fed him ice cream in his sleep,” Minho relates, and that actually makes Seungmin cackle.

“That was a highlight of my college life,” Seungmin admits softly, but proudly. “He kept muttering in his sleep!”

“Jisung also told me about when you put hot sauce in his egg sandwich, forgot about it when you were hungry, and ended up eating it yourself—”

Jisung snorts when this time Seungmin scowls. “I hadn't eaten all day when that happened!”

“Yeah well that teaches you not to mess with my food—or touch my food in general!” Jisung declares, tongue sticking out.

Seungmin, of course, rolls his eyes. He looks like he's about to say more, but then the music that's blasting through remote speakers changes into a more upbeat one, and Minho beams at both of them.

“I love this song!” He comments, needing to raise his voice a little to be heard now. “You guys wanna dance?!”

He's already tugging at Jisung's sleeve, but he does pause to give Seungmin a look of invitation.

“I don't dance,” Seungmin answers immediately, cringing as if he's appalled at even entertaining the thought of dancing.

Jisung laughs. “He doesn't dance,” he echoes in confirmation.

“Oh—mind if I borrow Jisung then?” Minho asks.

“All yours.”

Minho, Jisung finds out soon enough, is a very good dancer. Not that casual dancing in the living area of their common friend’s apartment truly allows room for him to fully judge Minho’s ability, but it isn't as if Jisung is any kind of expert anyway. But he isn't blind and he can easily tell that Minho _definitely_ knows how to move his hips, and Minho _clearly_ knows how to stomp and sway to the rhythm and beats of almost every song that plays in the next half hour – and he doesn't look awkward doing any of it, like Jisung is sure _he_ does. 

But he also finds that he doesn't really mind if he looks like an awkward dancing toad next to Minho, because he's having so much damn fun, especially when Minho moves to spin him around, or even just when they shimmy their shoulders in a synchronized manner.

“I need a drink—” He eventually professes to Minho, who is quick to nod and lead him away from the makeshift dance floor.

The older male takes him to the kitchen, where he uses a key to open the surprisingly locked door.

“Changbin’s sister used to hate it when people messed around in the kitchen whenever he had parties,” Minho explains when he notices Jisung’s baffled expression. “She hated when guests thoughtlessly raided _her_ food. But she liked us enough to grant us access,” he adds with a grin, before closing the door behind them. “Plus Changbin usually had us going in here to help him refill party refreshments, anyway.”

Sure enough, he easily rummages through the fridge, feeling absolutely and clearly at home Jisung, amused, hoists himself up the kitchen counter and watches as Minho emerges from his fridge raid with a bottle of… _water._

“Are you weaning me off alcohol already?!” Jisung gasps in fake shock.

“Alcohol dehydrates you,” Minho says simply. “So just drink up.”

And so Jisung accepts the offering, practically downing more than half the contents of the bottle in one go. He offers it back to Minho, who is now leaning against the counter beside him, and he finishes the rest of it just as quickly.

“Do you think we should go back to the thick of the party and mingle?” Jisung asks softly; he's reminded that he hasn't even said hi to Seoyeon yet – or Changbin, for that matter.

“Probably,” Minho answers, and for some reason, his face is now really close to Jisung's own. He doesn't know when, or how that happened, but it certainly has him getting self-conscious.

“I had a really good time today,” Jisung finds himself saying – _whispering_ to Minho. The latter's mouth curls into a smile at that, and Jisung has to resist the strong urge to reach up and touch the very pretty corners of his lips.

 _God, it's unfair,_ he thinks, because Minho is probably the most beautiful man on campus, and it's not right (nor should it be remotely believable) how easy things feel with him. 

He breathes in deeply – once to calm himself down, and then once more for luck, because their close proximity is making it look so easy to just lean in and place his lips on Minho's.

Before he's able to build enough courage to do that, he hears someone deeply clearing their throat, and he and Minho simultaneously turn to look towards the kitchen door.

“Hey mates,” one ot the two boys standing by the doorway is grinning at them when he speaks; he has an accent that Jisung thinks might be British or Australian – he isn't an expert on these things. “What are you two doing here—?” He’s regarding Minho suspiciously, but there’s a playful glint in his eyes, and a mischievous grin on his lips; his eyes eventually land on Jisung, and his smile grows even bigger. “You must be Jisung!” the boy chirps happily, practically _skipping_ as he makes a beeline towards Jisung. 

“Uh, yeah, that's me!” Jisung responds, sheepish but with an attempt to match the boy’s enthusiasm. He assumes he's one of Minho's good friends – Felix something or other, if he goes by the accent. Minho _did_ mention earlier that one of his best friends is Australian.

“Jisung, meet Felix—” Minho introduces, and Jisung nods, sliding off the kitchen counter as he mentally congratulates himself for getting that fact correct, “—and the other one is, well—” this time, it's Minho who sports a mischievous grin, “—hello again, Jeongin! Now, what are _you_ two doing here?”

“Not the same thing you two are here for!” Felix declares immediately. “Sorry about interrupting, by the way.” He throws Jisung an apologetic look, for which Jisung isn’t sure what for. He thinks Felix and Jeongin might have even saved him from absolutely embarrassing himself with Minho, so as frustrating as their timing is, a small part of him is inherently thankful.

“What are you even talking about?” Minho glares at Felix, an unfamiliar edge to his tone.

Felix shrugs and giggles, and Jisung suddenly realises that he’s actually buzzed. “Minho, I think he’s drunk,” he points out; he’s kind of fascinated by Felix though – all bright and happy and giggly, and he thinks that on any normal day he’s someone Jisung would actually love to befriend.

Minho turns to Jeongin. “Has he had a lot to drink?” He sounds concerned now, and there’s a small frown on his face which has Jisung curious. There are merits to watching Minho interact with his friends, Jisung thinks, and he almost sniggers for it. “Is Woojin out there yet?”

“Just a few, don’t worry,” Jeongin assures Minho with a laugh; he walks over, and Felix immediately drapes himself against the vulpine-looking boy. “Woojin sent us here to get Felix some water.”

“Oh, good, Woojin’s here, then.” Minho nods, a more relaxed smile making a reappearance on his face. 

“Plus—Changbin roped some people into playing drinking games, so I’m here hiding out,” Jeongin adds, which makes Minho _and_ Jisung laugh. 

But then he’s regarding Felix with a bit of worry once more, and, “Do you guys need a ride back to the dorms?” He offers, with a quick, apologetic look at Jisung who, actually feels his heart sink to his stomach in that moment – did that mean it was the end of their night together?

“No—!” Felix immediately, _vehemently,_ argues. “I’m fine, Minho! I’m not _that_ drunk! I’ve had, like, two bottles—I’m not that weak!”

Minho snorts. “New Years’ Eve begs to differ.”

“We were drinking tequila shots, then!” Felix keeps arguing; he groans and turns towards Jisung. “You get pass out drunk _once_ —”

He rolls his eyes, and Jisung laughs. “One time, I got super drunk and started telling everyone ‘I love you,’” He shares randomly; it makes Jeongin cast him a weird glance, but Minho laughs, and so does Felix, which makes him feel good.

“Well, I’m not there yet, mate,” Felix retorts, chortling; and then to Minho, “Do you want me to recite the alphabet backwards to prove my borderline sobriety?”

“You can’t do that even when you’re _fully_ sober,” Minho points out.

“Oh.” Felix looks disappointed for a brief second. “You’re right.”

“I got him,” Jeongin assures Minho, moving so he can casually place an arm around Felix. “We just came in here for water anyway. We’ll be—” he glances at Jisung, who simply smiles at him, unsure what else he’s supposed to say, “—out of your hair soon enough.”

“No,” Minho sighs. “You two stay here. Have Felix sober up a little.” He glances at Jisung and offers him a smile – Jisung is a little embarrassed to admit that something so simple actually gets his heart racing. “Come on,” Minho beckons to him, and they exit the kitchen together, leaving behind whispering between Felix and Jeongin that he can't quite properly make out.

  
  
  


Jisung is a naturally curious being who wants to ask Minho what the deal between Felix and Jeongin is, as soon as they leave the kitchen, but instead, he gets distracted by the way the older’s fingers wrap around his, and the way Minho smiles at him.

“Sorry about that,” he apologizes sheepishly, which Jisung finds cute. (He’d say it’s strange to find it cute, but it’s almost eleven, which means they’ve been together for ten straight hours, and by now he’s kind of just accepted that he finds most things about Minho cute. See also: fascinating, intriguing, _pretty.)_

“Don’t apologise,” Jisung assures him, a wide grin plastered on his face even though he doesn’t really want to say what he’s about to say next. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay and help Felix out?” He doesn’t think Felix is _too_ drunk, but Minho seemed pretty concerned earlier, so maybe there’s something that Jisung missed.

“I shouldn’t anyway,” Minho admits; he keeps pulling Jisung along with him, glancing around the party crowd like he’s searching for someone. “Felix is a big boy, and I’m pretty sure those two would rather be alone anyway. If you know what I mean—” He glances at Jisung and wiggles his eyebrows, giggling.

“Oh.” Minho’s giggling is contagious, and Jisung finds himself teetering along.

“Besides,” Minho’s voice drops to a quieter tone, his words barely audible, “I’d also rather be alone with _you.”_

Jisung isn't a hundred percent sure that he heard correctly, but before he can ask and confirm, Minho has already turned his attention on someone else.

“Hey, Woojin,” he says, tapping someone's shoulder from behind. The guy turns around, and Jisung thinks that Minho’s friend is someone who can be easily described as bear-like – he's bigger than Minho, and sturdier in appearance, but there's something about his smile that's warm and inviting.

“Oh, hey, Minho—!” The guy – Woojin, as Minho called him – exchanges a casual nod with Minho, before his gaze naturally falls on Jisung. “And you must be Jisung.”

“Uh, yeah!” Jisung has to almost yell because the song has changed into something even louder and noisier. “That's me!” 

“Nice to meet you,” Woojin says, grinning at Jisung before Minho manages to wrestle the guy's attention back to him, and Jisung is left wondering why and how Woojin knew who he was before Minho even introduced him. (Come to think of it, he realises Felix had reacted to him similarly in the kitchen.)

Jisung stands there, head naturally bobbing along to the music while Minho has a brief exchange with Woojin; he hears something about Felix and checking in on him, and then Minho is once again pulling him away from the crowd.

“Oh hey! There you two are—” They bump into Changbin just as they pass near the sound system, right by the staircase; he's carrying two open bottles of beer, and he's flashing his trademark lopsided grin at both of them. “Hyunjin mentioned you two were here together! Come play a game with us—we’re doing Never Have I Ever.”

“No thank you,” Minho quickly answers, chuckling as he instead snatches away the drinks Changbin is carrying. “We’ll take these, though!”

“Wait, what—hey!” Changbin looks befuddled, but Minho is already pulling Jisung away, laughing, and all Jisung can do is laugh along loudly, especially since he manages to catch Changbin’s annoyed huff. 

“Nice party, Changbin!” Jisung hurriedly shouts to him, as Minho drags him up the stairs.

“Hey! Minho!” Changbin calls out, leaning against the balustrade. “The second floor is supposed to be off-limits!”

“Love you too, Binnie!” Is the only response Minho has, and for a brief moment, Jisung wonders if Changbin is gonna run after them, but he doesn't, and soon enough, he's stepping foot on the top landing with Minho.

“Off-limits, he said,” Jisung parrots Changbin’s words, even though he's giggling and chortling – he feels intensely giddy, for some reason.

“Don't mind him,” Minho says. “He knows I won't mess with his things, anyway. Do you actually want to play I’ve Never with the rest of them? Because I’m personally not up to reliving high school.” 

He looks at Jisung like he's genuinely asking and awaiting an answer, so Jisung smiles and shakes his head. 

_I’d rather be alone with you,_ Minho had said not even ten minutes earlier, and just remembering them makes Jisung feel all warm and dizzy.

 _I’d rather be alone with you too,_ he almost returns now, but he actually feels tongue-tied for once. Minho has that effect on him, apparently.

“I can't believe Changbin lives here by himself,” Jisung murmurs as he looks around – there are three doors on the second floor.

“He asked me and Woojin if we want to move in, actually. We have a cheap apartment that's closer to campus, but our lease doesn't end until July, so we're just waiting. In the meantime, he's been having a lot of sleepovers with Hyunjin instead,” Minho explains, chuckling; he stops in front of the last door and hands Jisung the two bottles of beer that he stole from Changbin before reaches for the door knob. “This used to be his sister's room. It’ll be mine and Woojin’s if we ever actually move in.”

When he opens the door, and he pulls Jisung in with him, Jisung finds his breath hitching – not because the room is anything special (it's completely empty and unlived in, the walls bare, and the floors littered with several empty boxes), but because he doesn't know what's happening here. He's alone in a bedroom (and there _is_ still a bed right in the middle of the room) with Lee Minho, the prettiest boy Jisung has ever met and he’s unsure if there's something here that he should look forward to.

And then he realises that Minho is pushing open the low ceiling window at the far side of the room, and beckoning him over. “Come on—!” His voice is breathy – a little shaky, even, and when Jisung marches over and gets a closer look at him, he realises that Minho is actually slightly trembling.

Minho inhales deeply before he swings one leg over the window ledge, much to Jisung’s surprise.

“What’s going on?”

“I wanna show you something,” Minho mumbles, obviously quite nervous as he takes his sweet, sweet time in climbing out of the window.

“You’re shaking,” Jisung observes, eyes wide with confusion.

“Yeah, well, um—” Minho winces; he’s already halfway out, but struggling to move further. “I might be a little afraid of heights,” he mumbles.

Jisung pokes his head out the window to check just how far up they are – he guesses that there’s no way they’re over ten feet above the ground, not to mention he’d be sliding off some roofing first before he even actually falls off, but he still understands Minho’s obvious trepidation.

“So why are we exiting by way of this window, then?” He asks, turning and squarely meeting Minho’s gaze.

“I wanna show you something,” Minho simply repeats, so softly and meekly – a far cry from the boldness he’s been showing Jisung all day. 

“Okay,” Jisung nods, snorting as he tries not to laugh. He’s not exactly that fond of great heights himself, but that fear only kicks in for him when he stops being able to see the bottom landing. Ten feet is nothing to him – he used to like climbing trees when he was younger, and his favorite structure at the neighborhood playground has always been the jungle gym. He balances the two beer bottles he’s holding on the far end of the ledge, and then he holds a hand out towards Minho. “Okay, hold tight,” he instructs.

Minho is quick to grip his hand, and as the older continues to push his entire body out of the opening, Jisung easily feels his hold tightening, and practically cutting off his blood circulation. Jisung doesn’t let go though, even halfway hoisting himself out of the window so he can continue to help steady Minho until he manages to situate himself in a seated position on the roof.

“All good?” Jisung asks, his own voice shaky now as he tries not to laugh. Even under just the dim lighting of the moon and the stars, he can tell that Minho is a little flushed – it’s not funny, but it’s adorable and Jisung has to bite his tongue so he doesn’t coo out loud. 

“Shut up and just get out here too,” Minho grumbles. 

Jisung smiles sweetly, grabs the drinks he’d put away earlier and hands them over to Minho before he climbs out to join the older on the roof.

“Hi,” he greets Minho, his smile sweeter now, and just a tad shyer. He gets handed back one of the drinks, and for several seconds they’re both quiet and still, both silently drinking from their respective bottles. “So,” Jisung whispers, when he notices that Minho is just fiddling with loose threads on his ripped jeans’ knee opening. “You wanna show me now whatever it is you said you wanted to show me?” His grin grows cocky (which he blames on that energizing sip of Budweiser), and he gently elbows Minho’s side. “Or did you just want to get me alone so bad that it’s worth almost maybe falling off the roof of your best friend’s house?”

Minho sputters out laughter, only to completely stop when he slides down around maybe half an inch. His face turns pale, but Jisung has good reflexes, and he manages to grab Minho’s arm, steadying him.

Minho inhales deeply. “Thanks,” he murmurs; there’s a moment of silence before, “You know, I took Astronomy in my freshman year.”

“Yeah?” Jisung can tell he wants to quickly move on from that brief moment of fear he had, so he just glances at him before looking away, and up the sky. The stars are bright and lovely, but he doesn’t really have knowledge of them past that.

“It was annoying because it was a late night class,” Minho says. “I skipped a lot, and barely learned anything,” he admits with a chuckle. “I remember practically nothing, except, uh—how to find the Little Dipper. I can’t even find the big one, and they're supposed to be super near each other.”

“Which one is it then?”

“Um—” Minho takes another deep breath before he lifts his chin so he can look at the night sky. “Wait,” he mumbles squinting and sitting straight up, as if that’s supposed to help him any. Jisung can only sit there and stare at Minho’s (unfairly gorgeous) side profile as he tries to locate the constellation in question. “Oh, there!” He squeaks excitedly, a smile spreading across his lips as he turns. His eyes are sparkling when they meet Jisung’s, and Jisung feels warmth spreads across his cheeks because he can’t help but think that the stars in Minho's eyes are way more beautiful than anything the sky has to offer.

Minho grins and points above; Jisung has no idea what he’s supposed to be squinting at, though. “Where there?”

“The bright star—the super bright, twinkly one? Do you see it?”

Jisung thinks he does, but he’s honestly a little distracted because of how close Minho is. Nevertheless, he hums in agreement, and it's worth it because Minho gets even more excited.

“That’s the north star,” Minho explains. “It’s also a corner point of the Little Dipper.” He traces the stars in the sky, and Jisung simply keeps nodding.

“That’s cool,” he murmurs.

There's a pregnant pause, and then suddenly, Minho’s shoulders are shaking as he laughs. “Yeah, it would be, if I actually knew what I was talking about,” he admits in between chuckles. “Wish I could have at least remembered a more interesting constellation!”

“At least you knew which one the North Star was,” Jisung assures him amidst his own laughter.

“I guess,” Minho exhales, his head now hung low. “I guess maybe you're right and I only really just wanted to be alone with you.”

Jisung feels absolute happiness rising in his chest, and to calm down, he ends up fixating on the same loose thread on Minho’s pants that the older himself was fiddling with earlier. He reaches over, pulling at the thread, and then poking at Minho’s exposed knee while humming softly.

“And yet you made me think it was all about getting Felix alone with Jeongin,” Jisung teases.

Minho snorts. “Partly that, too—Felix swears up and down they’re just friends, but there’s something there. Just got a little worried about Lix getting drunk—he’s kinda the baby in our group, so everyone worries about him a lot.”

Jisung gets it now, the exchange with Woojin. Minho was making sure that someone would check in on Felix, just in case. “You’re cute with your friends,” he muses, fully meaning it. It’s cute how Minho gets concerned about the people he cares about, but clearly not in a suffocating way. Jisung can only imagine how it would feel to be on the receiving end of that subtle care – he thinks he really likes the idea.

“My friends can take care of themselves,” Minho huffs, as if trying to deflect Jisung’s praise.

“I told you about mine earlier,” Jisung says. “My friends, I mean. Your turn to tell me about yours. How’d you get close with them?”

“Woojin and I were roommates, freshman year,” Minho explains. “Changbin was in Basic Maths with me that same year, first term. And then—” he laughs and nods towards the sky, “—surprisingly, we met again the following semester in Astronomy. All those classes I skipped? I skipped with him to hang out at Woojin’s room. He got a gig as a floor R.A. that year. Felix was on his floor, and he was always dropping by Woojin’s room to talk with him about all his concerns.” He shrugs. “I guess that’s how we all became friends.” 

“See, that’s cute!” Jisung insists with a grin. “You know what’s even cuter, though?”

“Hmm—what?”

“Us.” 

That was definitely a whole lot smoother in his head, but alas, said out loud it felt stilted, and just a tad awkward. Silence follows Jisung’s retort, until he finally caves and lets out an embarrassed groan.

“Sorry—” he begins, wanting to tell Minho to just forget he even said anything, but then Minho is suddenly laughing, shoulders once again shaking uncontrollably while one of his hands grip at Jisung’s knee like he's making sure to help keep himself balanced this time.

“You,” Minho wheezes. _“You’re_ cuter.”

There’s a two second lag before Jisung manages to re-gather his confidence, and he’s able to respond with, “Thank you, I know.”

And then they’re _both_ laughing again, clutching at each other as if for dear life. Minho wheezes, and the bottle that Jisung is holding accidentally slips from his grip, bouncing off the slope of the roof before it completely falls off the edge. Both of them grow quiet, eyes growing wide during the couple of seconds that pass before they hear the faint sound of it crashing and breaking once it hits the ground – it isn’t really funny, but that sets them off yet again.

“Why are you laughing?!” Minho asks.

“Because you’re laughing!” Jisung answers, inhaling deeply as he attempts to control himself. 

And then they’re leaning against each other again, chests heaving as they both catch up on air. 

“Today’s one of the best days I’ve had in a long time,” Minho suddenly says; he’s clutching tightly at Jisung’s arm, as if he’s once again realised that they’re on the roof and he’s actually afraid of heights. “Thank you.”

“Thank the weather for being so bright and sunny today,” Jisung answers, shifting and adjusting in his seat, wiggling his arm away from Minho’s hold, only so that he can slide it around him for a more comfortable form of support. 

They sit in comfortable silence, and it’s a first for them throughout the entire day. Even when they were watching a movie, they were constantly whispering to each other – they were lucky the theater had very few other patrons. It’s nice, Jisung thinks, because easy banter is nice, but for someone like him who is almost physically incapable of ever sitting still, having this kind of pleasant silence is new, and ultimately welcome.

“Hey, Minho,” he finally whispers after a while, remembering something interesting from earlier that evening. “How did Felix and Woojin know who I am?”

“Ah.” Minho fidgets, and then he offers his own, half empty bottle of beer to Jisung instead of answering. “Want mine? I shouldn’t have too much since I’m gonna be driving, anyway.”

Jisung squints at him and studies his expression before taking the drink. “I’ll have this, thank you, but you still have to answer my question,” he declares, sticking his tongue out at Minho like he’s 10 instead of 20, before he downs a gulp of beer. 

Minho sighs. “I might have mentioned you to Felix when we first arrived and I got us drinks,” he explains. “He probably mentioned you to Woojin, or something.” 

It’s a simple explanation that makes sense, and even though Jisung had hoped for some other reason – something more _telling_ – he simply hums, and lets it slide.

“And okay—” Apparently, Minho isn’t done explaining though, and he continues in a more deadpan, more soulless tone, “—maybe I might have also mentioned you a number of times before as the cute guy in my SciTech class, and tonight I told them I finally knew your name.”

A wide grin spreads across Jisung’s face. “You thought—you _think_ I’m cute!”

“Did we not already establish this just five minutes ago?” Minho clicks his tongue; he’s trying to sound calm, but Jisung can _feel_ him fidgeting.

“I like being told repeatedly.”

They turn to face each other, Minho sighing deeply, affectedly. “You’re cute. I’ve thought that ever since the first day of the term, and I saw you do a funny little dance in the hallway, right outside the lecture hall, after you won some kind of debate with Seungmin,” He goes on, laughing. “I don’t even know what you were debating about, but I thought you were shameless, but really, really cute.”

Jisung almost chokes on his spit – funny enough, he actually remembers that moment Minho is talking about. He’d bet that their professor wouldn’t show, and when a T.A had shown up instead to discuss the class syllabus, he’d had to insist to Seungmin that he still won what was on the line anyway, which just happened to be a free meal _and_ the right to decide where in the lecture auditorium they'd be sitting at all throughout the term (he wanted near the back so he can easily doze off, Seungmin wanted near the front for Maximum Learning Experience). He probably should be more embarrassed about Minho having seen his stupid little celebratory dance (Seoyeon _loves_ to make fun of him for it, which in turn just makes him obnoxiously do it more in front of her), but instead he ends up focusing on Minho calling him cute. His toes are curling inside his shoes out of glee, but Minho doesn't need to know that.

“I’ve been calling you Pretty Boy in my head and to my friends for the last two months,” he finds himself blurting out. He grimaces right after the words slide off his tongue, but Minho’s pleased chuckle maybe makes his embarrassment worth it.

“Well, what a pair we make, then,” Minho murmurs.

“A pair that fits well,” Jisung sing-songs, much to Minho’s obvious amusement. He keeps swinging back and forth between being confidently daring and sheepishly apprehensive. He thinks he's reading Minho pretty well in that he’s definitely as interested in Jisung, as Jisung is in him – but Jisung has never really been good at this whole flirting thing. 

Back in high school, first dates were always easy to come by for him – he was never the shy type, and whenever he had an interest in someone, he simply went up to them and asked them out. Most people found this charming, and easily agreed to go out with him. The problem was that second dates were rare, and third ones were practically nonexistent, and his friends used to tell him that this was because he comes on pretty strong – that he shares too much of himself at once, and that he opens with his negative, as well as his positive qualities. He never really understood what his old friends meant, he was only ever being himself. Nevertheless, this is something that he tried to fix upon setting foot in college, and now, halfway through his second year in university, his current statistics are: five first dates, two second dates, and nothing further than that – except, unlike high school, this time it’s because he’s the one who doesn’t try for more. (“I’m bored, they’re boring, it’s all boring – what’s the point in going on more dates if I don’t feel like I can be myself?” He’d whined to Seungmin more than once. “Then just be yourself?” Seungmin would always tell him, straightforward and matter-of-fact, in a tone that made it obvious he didn’t understand what Jisung was even going on about.)

Maybe, Jisung realises, that’s why the day has gone as smoothly as it has – technically it isn’t really a date, after all, and he hadn’t felt the need to hide any part of himself from Minho, and he’d like to think that Minho’s shown him exactly who he is as well. 

“I had a really good day too,” he admits, his smile shy and hesitant, but then Minho reaches for his hand to give it a squeeze, and Jisung relaxes completely.

“Can I kiss you?” Minho suddenly asks in a whispered tone, and the question feels both expected and unexpected at once.

Jisung blinks, unable to answer at first because he’s too distracted by the thundering in his chest. _Shit,_ he thinks, he’s known this boy a day and it already feels like he’s going to combust the moment he lets his lips touch his own.

He nods anyway, trying to work through the dizzying anticipation that’s spreading through his entire being. “Yes,” he whispers back. “Please.”

From where they are, they can only really hear faint thumping of the music coming from downstairs, but he recognises the song that’s playing. He doesn’t remember the title, or who the artist is, but he remembers the song from high school, and he quietly hums along – to calm himself down, if nothing else. 

His stomach feels fluttery, like the lone butterfly from earlier has multiplied and turned into a whole kaleidoscope, while his heart feels full, as if it's about to burst at the seams. It’s been a little bit that way since that afternoon, since the moment he’d gotten up to his feet, and he had told Minho that they should find somewhere nice to soak up the sun – except now everything he was feeling that afternoon feels completely magnified. He still doesn’t really know what possessed him to do that, to boldly extend such a random invitation to Minho, but he has no regrets. This day has meant a lot to him, so much so that he isn’t even sure how to begin to unpack it.

That doesn’t matter right now anyway, because Minho is carefully leaning in closer, closer, _closer,_ and damn it, he’s taking his damn sweet time, and it’s getting increasingly frustrating. Jisung’s breath hitches – he thinks it just might kill him, if he builds this kiss up in his head any second longer, so he stops waiting.

His arm is still loosely wrapped around Minho’s waist, and he uses it to pull the older closer, smiling to himself when Minho lets out a soft gasp of surprise when he realises what’s happening. And then their lips are finally pressed together, parting against each other at the same time, and just like everything else that day, it feels just right – their mouths fit perfectly together, and Minho tastes sweet, _so sweet,_ and he remembers Seoyeon reading something from some lady’s magazine out loud to him once, about how if someone’s saliva tastes sweet, then that means you have the ideal chemistry.

Minho giggles into the kiss, and even _that_ sounds sweet to Jisung; it’s infectious as well, and it’s no surprise when he finds himself laughing too. They refuse to pull apart, and that results in them half giggling into each other’s mouths, and half breathing each other in.

“We’re going to fall off if we continue this here,” Minho mumbles, and he’s clinging to Jisung, one hand tightly clutching at the front of his shirt, while the other grips his waist for balance. He’s shaking, a gentle reminder of his fear of heights, but he’s also smiling, the kiss having now devolved into quick, consecutive pecks that they take turns in giving each other.

Jisung thinks he’s right, and maybe they should relocate somewhere, like back inside the empty bedroom; but mostly he’s thinking about how maybe it wouldn’t be so bad – _falling_ for Minho like this.

He thinks that’s already what he’s been doing all day, anyway.

  
  
  


_My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me._  
_So won't you kill me, so I die happy._  
_My heart is yours to fill or burst, to break or bury,_  
_Or wear as jewelry, whichever you prefer._  
_Hands down this is the best day I can ever remember._  
  
“Hands Down,” **Dashboard Confessional**

(“Are we not allowed to smile or—?” Jisung asks Minho. 

It’s around half past eight in the morning – they’d passed out together some time between one and two in the morning, when the party was dying down, and the two of them had moved from the roof, and made themselves comfortable in the lonely, unoccupied bed that Minho informs Jisung used to also be Changbin’s sister's. 

It was seven in the morning when Changbin had walked in on them, waking them up unceremoniously with a generous offer of breakfast. 

And now here they are, standing in front of Jisung’s dorm room, staring at each other while inexplicably trying to hold back grins – Jisung has his lips pursed, while Minho is very obviously biting the inside of his cheek. 

“No one said anything to that effect,” Minho answers; Jisung notices the corners of his lips twitching, and he almost rolls his eyes when Minho’s brow creases instead.

It’s silly, really, how much both of them are trying so hard not to give in and show just how happy they feel – at least Jisung assumes that’s what’s going on in Minho’s head, because that’s certainly his own train of thought.

“I’ll see you again, tonight?” He clarifies instead, and just like that, Minho easily breaks into a big grin, which makes Jisung give in as well, his own smile bright, wide and toothy.

“Yeah,” Minho confirms, nodding. He leans in and gives Jisung an affectionate peck on his nose. “And you're paying, by the way because your favorite on campus location had nothing on mine.”

Jisung groans, but it's mostly for show – he doesn't care because it still means he's seeing Minho later that evening.

“Whatever,” he declares, right before quickly sticking his tongue out at Minho. “It’s a date.”)

  
  
  
  


_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> [ 6 ] [twitter](http://twitter.com/hanmings) // [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/yiminho) ☔
> 
> [ 7 ] thank you for reaching the end. as usual, feedback would be much appreciated. i hope you enjoyed this! ♥


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